WomenHeart is a national US coalition founded in 1999 that supports women with or at risk of heart disease through peer support groups and survivor training run with Mayo Clinic.
WomenHeart, founded in 1999, is a national patient-centred organisation focused exclusively on women with or at risk of heart disease. It describes itself as the first and only national coalition of its kind, working to support women living with heart disease and to press for equity in heart health. The organisation was established by three women heart disease survivors - Jackie Markham, Nancy Loving and Judy Mingram - who shared experiences of misdiagnosis, inadequate treatment and social isolation. Its origins lie in grassroots advocacy and storytelling, with the founders' accounts initially featured in More magazine.
Its main programme is the WomenHeart National Support Group Network, the only patient support network of its kind in the United States, comprising nearly 100 local support groups across more than 30 states. Alongside this runs the Science & Leadership Symposium, a training programme delivered in partnership with Mayo Clinic that prepares women heart disease survivors to serve as community educators; more than 1,000 survivors have completed the training. Both programmes are built on a peer-led model in which survivors support and educate other women.
WomenHeart operates across the United States within healthcare, women's health, cardiology and patient advocacy. Its work is shaped by a patient-centred mission, a commitment to equity in heart health, and a culture rooted in survivors' own experiences. Further information is available at womenheart.org.
